Improvement in grain, coffee, and rice cleaners



" trier...

ANDREW oimwronn, or wrnKns-nanns, PENNSYLVANIA, AND man D.

ORZUVFORD, OF BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN GRAIN, COFFEE, AND RlCE CLEANERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 115L323, dated January$1, 1571.

To fbZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, ANDREW CRAWFORD, of \Vilkes-Barre, Luzerne county,State of Pennsylvania, and IRAM D. CRAWFORD, of Bloomington, McLeancounty, State of Illinois, have invented certain Improvements in Grain,Coffee, and Rice Cleanersand Hullers, of which the following is aspecification.

The first part of our invention consists in applying a brush made partlyof steel and partly of bristles to the cleaning, scouring, and hnllingof wheat, barley, coilee, rice, and spices, whereby all beards, fuzz,and dirt, orother impurities are removed, so that no foreign substanceis attached to or mingled with grainor spices for domestic use,fiouring, or

, transverse section of cylinder N o. 2, showing thebrush partly steel,a, partly bristles, b b, "with a section of the coinlucting-fiinnelG,common to cylinders 2 and 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectionof cylinderNo. 3, showing the brush wholly of bristles btb, and thesupport '10, common to cylinders 2 and 3, whereby they obtain theirinclination. Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the frame, showing thesand-screen S. Fig. 7 is a front view of cylinders 2 and 3 with theconducting-funnel G.

H. is, a common hopper, after the style of ordinary grist-mill hoppers,serving only the purpose of a conduit. A common funnelshaped spout willanswer every purpose. It may be connected with a thrashing-machine orstorage, where grain or spices are kept in ibnlk and require cleaning orhulling.

A is a chamber occupied by the upright 5 solid cylinder No. l, the upperportion of said chambers.

I material as the preceding.

which sustains the hopper.-

B and G are chambers occupied, respect ively, by the perforatedcylinders Nos. 2 and D is a chamber occupied by the shaking screen andi'an. Fitted into and forming the lower floor of this chamber is asand-screen, through which the heavy dirt and sand fall to the ground.

No. 1 is an upright solid cylinder, made of brass or Russiairon, inwhich is revolved, by ordinary gear, a shaft covered by a brush, a, madeof steel wire of firm quality, slightly roughened, which is meshed intoanother brush, c,'ofthe same material, similarly made.

covering the concave'of the cylinder. The purpose of constructing thebrushes in this cylinder exclusively of steel wire of a somewhat coarsequality, roughened, as already described, is to give the machine thepower of-breaking up lumps of dirt, rat-du ng, beards, hulls, &c.,without injury to the kernel of the grain. l a

This purpose is further followed up by cyl-' inder No. 2, which is madeof the same material as No. l, but not necessarily so firm, perforatedfrom the inner side with holes or slits, by means of which, as in thecylinder next to be described, a portion of the dirt is driven out asthe cleaning proceeds, and confined in the chambers B and G, whence itis removed through the doors F F F F, forming sides of In this cylinder,as in No. 1, is revolved a shaft-brush, a, meshed into a concave brush,1), made of coarse firm bristles, and a quality of steel wire finer thanin N 0.1, equal proportions of each, bristles and Wire, alternatelysetthat is, a setting or tuft of wire, then of bristles, from one end tothe other of the brushes. The brushes are con structed long and narrow,extending from end to end of the cylinder, so as to act uniformly uponthe grain or spices, and alternated with the holes or slits, which arearranged in narrow rows from end to end of this and of cylinder No. 3,next to be described.

Cylinder No. 3 is constructed of the same The brushes a b are madeexclusively of bristles, the purpose being to cleanse and purify thekernel or bulk rather than to break up masses of dirt. The holes orslits are abont'tweutypcr cent. larger than in the preceding cy1inder,so I wire, I) 1) indicating those of bristles. In the as to facilitate,to the greatcstdegrce compatible with retention, the escape of thecomminuted dirt, and are arranged in rows throughout the cylinders,perforated from within, and the holes or slits alternate with thebrushes, as already described in No. 2. Both of the latter-describedcylinders are set at angles of about thirty-five degrees,such as to givea moderate rate of speed to the grain, but not to clog it. From thecylinder No. 3 the mass of grain, now thoroughly scoured and separatedfrom the light dirt by means of the perforated cylinders, or what may beappropriately termed cylindrical screens, falls upon a shaking screen,designated in the drawings as No. 4, whose meshes are sufficiently largeto separate any weed-seeds, cockle, heavy dirt, and sand, the latter twoof which and their kindred are finally disposed of by tlie sandscreen S,which forms part of the ground or bottom floor of the machine. Beneaththe shaking screen, at a practical distance back of the falling mass, isplaced a fan, designated in the drawings as N o. 5, which is designed togive completion in separati ng any light dust or hulls or the likeaccompanying the grain or spices before falling into bags or boxes foruse.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 2 the extremities of the shafts I I will beseen, to which are attached bands whereby the machine is driven. Moreespecially, by reference to Fig. 2, as already described, the sectionsof the cylinder 00 00, y y, and z z are shown, inclosing sections of theshafts a a a, covering which will be seen the distinctive character ofthe brushes, 0 0 indicating those parts in an n Iiictured of steel samefigurewill be seenasection of the shaking screen and fan 4 and 5, andthe sand-screen S, and the bag or box which receives the puri fied massP. The power necessary todrive the shafts will be light; the speedgoverned by the purpose to be obtained, whether breaking up dirt,rat-dung, or hulls, removing caps, beards, or fuzz; the methods ofconnecting with the driving-power simple, and the space to be occupiedsmall, as well as expense of con struction.

YVe claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letterslatent- V V 1.The rotary wirestudded cylinder a, in combination with the hollowperforated cylinder 2, furnished with the compound brush of bristles andstiff wires, substantially as described.

2. The combination and arrangement of the hopper H, vertical cylinder 1,with its rotary and fixed brushes a and c, inclined perforated cylinder2, with its brushes a b, inclined perforated cylinder 3, with itsbrushes a Z), connecting-funnels G G, shaking screen 4, sandscreen S,and fan 5, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

ANDREW cnnwronn. IRAM n. onawronn.

\Vitnesses to the signature of Andrew Crawford: I

E. 1?. KIsNER, YVM. FENNER. Vitnesses to the signature of I ram D.Crawford: I

W. S. DARAR, H. B. WVRIGHTM

